I've recently chopped my 50 chevy hardtop and have been working at getting vent windows back in. I have attempted to use factory potmetal frames cutting them down and braising back together with a 'potmetal' braising rod. The product bonds however its not strong and frames are cracking where I'm using it. I'm thinking I'm going to fabricate some frames out of stainless channel. Has anyone done this or had better luck with potmetal? Thanks! Sent from my SM-A217F using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Thanks fastcar1953. After reading that, maybe my brazing is not upto scratch Sent from my SM-A217F using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Cadmad has 2 solutions that may work for you. Here is Cadmad's solution to making a hard top window frame that may be adapted about 1/4 way down this page. https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/39-cadillac-custom.937692/page-6 Cadmad has a good description on how he repairs pot metal. https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/pot-metal-repair.1212414/
Your avatar looks cool. I notice it has no vent windows. That, of course, would seem to be an option if all else turns to mud and you rethink the 'look'. I am of mixed emotions on eliminating vent windows as they do have some functional use, unless you have air-conditioning --- which is pretty much another of those 'custom' touches that civilize the cabins of older vehicles and make them more habitable for those of us who grew up without but are now hopelessly addicted to the conveniences. I say this because my first reaction to the loss of vent windows came in California when I was still into the air-cooled German Car Thing, and that trend came along and I was pretty much washed out on keeping them alive and going. I know changing over is a pain in the arse but you also gain that little extra bit of unobstructed view that is multi fold in looks and safety, something that means more the older you get and the crazier people who shouldn't be driving at all act in their automobiles. Just a thought in passing I felt like sharing and maybe it will be like one of those silent ones and waft away in the wind. An added thought is that pot-metal being an alloy of several somewhat questionable metals seems like it would not only be a problem to fix together with anything short of molten kryptonite, saying you're not so good at it seems an understatement to the fact only the truly blessed could accomplish such a task. I once had an old welder tell me that he could weld anything but wood and shite, and fix anything but a broken heart. I took him at his word. But, for the rest of us who still haven't been so gifted and still weld with some economy and skill, it is always good to know there are those out there who boast, even if their mettle is yet to be proved. Keep at it. My younger brother had a Fastback and I drove it once, and never heard the last of it. Never saw a hardtop, though. Is it homemade or did Fisher actually offer one?
^^^^ removing the vent windows on a hardtop Chevy like that would be a major project. to get it to seal like a normal hardtop-no vent window car when driving with the windows up would be close to impossible without being ugly.
I have them in the car. not plated yet as I'm not happy with them, but they will do for now. The photo i posted is the windows i have modified. You can see the hairline cracks Sent from my SM-A217F using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Oh yes, I wish I hadn't come back and looked but hardtops are a pain in the ass. I had a '55 and not only did it rattle and leak, it sounded like a French Guillotine when I closed the doors. That was long before you could come by replacement parts and gaskets. The brazing thing has me puzzled because I have, as stated before, been around people who made metal do miraculous things. If I were faced with a problem like that, I would think about finding a donor with stainless, or I would make a replica out of wood and add about one percent to its size and have the whole damn thing cast in bronze. Both these metals can be better manipulated by both welding and machining than what you are working with. Question: have you looked at Cadillac's of the same time frame to see if their solution was to use a better metal? Often, the parts are quite similar and if so, manipulation of them, if of a better metal, would make your life a lot easier, because there is no doubt that metal with cracks in it now is not going to withstand the impact of being put through the various impacts and vibrations of the doors closing and bumps on the road. And, chrome is simply a thin veneer that won't add any integrity to the structure one whit. I know, it's depressing, and certainly one of those mountains that everyone who sets out to customize anything goes through because you are dealing with something that was built for a purpose and are altering it in a way that those who engineered and built it never intended. (I've heard this a lot, myself.) Still, "If it was easy,: as some wiseass one said about something I was doing, or someone else was, "Everyone would be doing it!" I hope you find a solution. I know where you are in terms of the emotional shit that comes from a problem that shouldn't be a problem, and hope you get past it. Good Luck.
I think fabricating some out of stainless will be the go. I don't have easy access to a doner set off another car. Thanks for your advice fortynut Sent from my SM-A217F using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
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